Rowers Dattu Baban Bhonkanal and Sawarn Singh sound upbeat about their medal chances in the upcoming Asian Games.
Boxer L Sarita Devi thanked Sachin Tendulkar, Boxing India and Sports Authority of India for supporting her.
Santosh Harijan and Mandeep Jangra registered easy wins to book quarter-final berths, but medal prospect Shiva Thapa pulled out owing to a shoulder injury as Indian boxers enjoyed mixed success at the Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Incheon, South Korea.
Jay Bhagwan won his opening bout in the 2011 Asian Confederation Boxing Championships, beating Zorigtbaatar Enkhzorig of Mongolia, in the 60 kg category, 19:12 on points.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi failed to make the cut as Hockey India announced an 18-member squad, led by Sadar Singh, for the eight-nation Hero men's Champions Trophy, in Bhubaneswar, from December 6-14. Lalit Upadhyay, who was capped nine times earlier, has been drafted in place of Chandi in the squad, named by Hockey India selectors after trials at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on November 18.
Join Abhishek Verma on Rediff Chat at 1 pm IST on October 10, where he will talk about his experience at the Asian Games, his preparations before the Asiad and the feeling of being an Asian Games gold medalist.
In what turned out to be a fruitful day for the Indian archers in the 17th Asian Games, Abhishek Verma settled for a silver after going down to Esmaeil Ebadi of Iran in the compound men's individual gold medal match in Incheon on Saturday.
On a comeback trail after serving her one-year ban, Asian Games bronze-medallist L Sarita Devi will be seen in competitive action from December 1 as part of a 13-strong Indian team of 10 men and 3 women for the training-cum-competition event in the Chinese city of Qian'an.
Balwinder Beniwal (64kg) was the third Indian boxer to make it to the semi-finals at the 2011 ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Incheon, South Korea. However, while the 2008 Youth Commonwealth gold medallist got in line for his second international medal with a resounding triumph, the other three Indian boxers in the fray, on Day 9 of the competition, fell by the wayside.
Commonwealth champion Paramjeet Samota (91kg) and CWG bronze medallist Amandeep Singh (49kg) advanced to the semi-finals of the 2011 ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Incheon, South Korea, on Monday. But there was disappointment for the Indian camp, as three other boxers lost in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
The 33-year-old from Hyderabad, who is the lone Indian left in fray, outsmarted Jorgensen 24-22, 21-8 in 37 minutes
Coach Jaidev Bisht feels the Asian meet will be a good opportunity for Indian boxers to prepare for the World Championships.
India finished the Championships with one silver and two bronze medals. 2010 Commonwealth champion Paramjeet Samota (91kg) and 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallist Balwinder Beniwal (64kg) had to settle for bronze medals each after losing in the semi-finals.
Japan staged a spectacular regulation time comeback to draw 6-6 before edging out Malaysia 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out and claim the men's hockey gold at the Asian Games on Saturday. Trailing 4-1 in the second period and then 5-2 in the fourth, Japan pumped in three goals through Kentaro Fukuda, Kenta Tanaka and Koji Yamasaki in a seven-minute blitz to level the pulsating contest.
India's Trisha Deb sprung a surprise to win bronze in the compound women's individual event at the Asian Games on Saturday, taking India's tally in archery to three medals on the day so far.
India were, on Friday, assured of three medals in squash competition of the 18th Asian Games with Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik advancing to the semifinals of their respective singles events in Jakarta.
Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom settled for a bronze medal at the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) Olympic Test event in Rio de Janeiro after going down in the semifinals.
The decision was taken at the OCA's General Assembly in Bangkok.
The Punjab pugilist, who won a gold at the Commonwealth Championships last year, won 13-12 in a nail-biting bout to set up a summit clash with Shin Jong Hun.
Tennis star Sania Mirza was disappointed as she arrived late and could not see the man-made marvel, Taj Mahal in Agra city.
The 250,000 citizens of Songdo, a business district which borders the Yellow Sea in Incheon, a free economic zone in South Korea, are seeing hectic activity. Every nook and corner is being wired. The idea is to have everything connected -- buildings, cars and even energy grids.
Lalita Babar qualified for the women's 3000m steeplechase final after finishing fourth in the qualifying Heat 2 with a national record time, while compatriot Sudha Singh was eliminated in the Olympic Games on Saturday.
A remorseful L Sarita Devi appealed to the International Boxing Association to lift the provisional suspension imposed on her for refusing to accept the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, saying she deeply regrets her outburst on the podium and will never repeat it.
Ethiopian-born Maryam Yusuf Jamal thanked Bahrain for giving her the chance to earn a living from athletics on Wednesday and told Reuters that her Asian Games 1,500 metres gold medal was down to intensive training, not which country she originated from.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General Jiji Thomson admitted that India has not progressed as an Olympic nation even after its best ever haul of six medals at the London Games in 2012 and the main reason is lack of bench strength.
The Indian Olympic Association has been fined $10,000 for withdrawing teams from the Asian Games at a late stage, but All India Tennis Association chief Anil Khanna is hopeful that the penalty would be withdrawn.
The Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) has sacked its president Rajesh Tomar for the gross mismanagement at the recent National Para-Athletics Championship in Ghaziabad, where athletes suffered due to lack of proper facilities.
The Qatar women's basketball team forfeited a game at the Asian Games on Wednesday after being refused permission to wear the hijab, saying they were taking a stand against what they say is a discriminatory policy against Muslim women.
All the four Indian wushu players lost their semi-final bouts to settle for bronze medals, on Wednesday, but ensured that the country produced its best ever performance in the Asian Games.
Vinesh Phogat's gold medal was India's first since women's wrestling was introduced at the Asian Games in 2002.
'This is another opportunity to do that, improve my medal and performance. I have got two team bronze in the Asian Games, and hopefully, I will improve my performance and maybe even get the gold'
After venturing into football, Indian cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni felicitated Asian Games gold-winning hockey team vice-captain P R Sreejesh on behalf of the Kerala Cricket Association.
The Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the Indian contingent was performing well in the ongoing Incheon Asian Games and hoped the athletes would win more medals for the country.
China were confirmed winners of the women's 10 metre air rifle team event at the Asian Games on Monday after judges overturned an earlier decision to disqualify them.
Putting up yet another dominating performance, defending champions Sania Mirza and Cara Black outclassed Jelena Jankovic and Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-3, 6-2 to reach the summit clash of the WTA Toray Pan Pacific Open, in Tokyo on Friday.
Tennis ace Sania Mirza expressed happiness over India winning five medals at the recently-concluded Asian Games at Incheon, although she felt many people did not expect them to do well with the team the country had sent.
National champion K Srikanth's dream run in the Malaysia Super Series badminton tournament ended in the quarter-finals, beaten in straight games by fourth seed Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia, in Kuala Lumpur, on Friday.
Facing the prospect of a ban, Indian boxer L Sarita Devi offered an "unconditional apology" for refusing to accept her bronze medal during the Asian Games presentation ceremony, the International Boxing Association said on Friday.
